US3082805A - Tissue macerator - Google Patents

Description

March 26, 1963 J. H. ROYCE TISSUE MACERATOR Filed Dec. 21, 1960 INVENTQR W United States Patent ()filice 3,082,805 Patented Mar. 26, 1963 3,6823% TESSUE MAQERATQR John H. Royce, 217 Crestwootl Road, Willowdale,

, Ontario, Qanada Filed Dec. 21, 1%tl, Ser. No. 77,361 4 Claims. (61. 146-68) This invention relates to improvements in medical laboratory equipment, and more particularly to improvements in equipment utilized to rapidly macerate small quantities of tissue or the like.

It is conventional practise to reduce animal tissue or the like to very line particles for experimental purposes by utilizing a type of mincing machine normally used in the reduction of large quantities of meat and the like to a ground consistency. These machines have the disadvantages that they are large and normally heavy and, being designed for use with bulk material, are unsuitable for preparing small samples.

Other attempts to overcome these difficulties have resulted in the invention of a tissue macerator which, although relatively ellicient in the maceration of small quantities of tissue, has certain mechanical disadvantages in that its rotary shaft runs in and is supported by a tube having no anti-frictional bearing surfaces and therefore picking up occurs between the shaft and the tube. Furthermore, the efliciency of the machine depends upon a very close tolerance fit between rotating cutting edges and stationary cutting edges, these wear very quickly and as there is no method of adjusting these clearances the efficiency of the machine is reduced to a point where the components must be replaced. Also, during the macera tion process, a certain amount of liquid is freed, this liquid under the influence of the cutting blades is forced upwardly and eventually works through the small annular space between the rotating centre shaft and the outer tube to emerge under pressure through the upper end of the machine, thus resulting in the loss of valuable liquid and a somewhat distasteful cleaning job to be carried out.

It is an object of this invention to provide a tissue macerator that may be utilized to minutely subdivide small amounts of animal tissue or the like.

It is another object of this invention to provide a tissue macerator that will fit easily within a standard container such as, for instance, a test tube.

It is yet another object of this invention to provide a tissue macerator that may be driven by an electric motor or the like.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a tissue macerator the rotating portion of which is supported in anti-friction bearings, thus preventing any picking up between it and the outer body.

It is another object of this invention to provide a tissue macerator, that, by the provision of suitable sealing means, will prevent the loss of any fluid released during the maceration process.

It is still another object of this invention to provide a tissue macerator that may have provision for adjusting the working clearance between the stationary blades thereof and the rotary blades thereof.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a tis-' sue macerator whose adjusting mechanism for blade clearance may be locked in any predetermined position.

It is yet another object of this invention to provide a tissue macerator that may be quickly and easily disassembled for the purposes of washing, sterilizing and the like.

These and other objects and features of this invention will become apparent when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a side elevation of a tissue macerator embodying this invention, the chuck of a driving motor being shown in phantom.

FIG. 2 is a mid vertical section of the tissue macerator as illustrated in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a side elevation of a compression tube embodied in this invention.

FIG. 4 is a fractional side elevation of the outer tube embodied in this invention showing in particular the stationary cutting blades and the tapered collar adjustment.

FIG. 5 is a fractional side elevation of the rotary blade assembly embodied in this invention.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, a macerator, indicated generally byarrow 10, comprises acompression sleeve 11 having a tubularstationary blade carrier 12 retainably located therein. A tapered collar .13 is located adjacent the lower end ofblade carrier 12 and limits the upward movement thereof withincompression tube 11, and acompression nut 14 is threadably received on the upper end ofblade carrier 12, thereby restraining it from downward movement withintube 11.

The upper end ofcarrier 12 also supports a flangedbush 15 adapted to rotatably support the upper end of aspindle 16 of arotary blade assembly 17.

Acollar 18 is freely fitted over the upper end of aspindle 16 and is adapted to limit the downward travel of achuck 19 of an electric drill or the like, and, at the same time protect the upper surface of flangedbush 15 from damage from the rotating jaws ofchuck 19.

Referring to FIG. 3,compression tube 11 as illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2 is formed of rigid tubular material such as, for instance, steel, two oppositely located,longitudinal slots 20 being formed therein, adapted to impart lightness and resiliency under compressive stresses totube 11. The side of slots '20 also provide a non slip grip for the operator ofmacerator 10.

Theupper edge 21 ofcompression tube 11 is substantially flat and is adapted to provide a working surface upon which the lower surface of compression nut 14- may rotate. Thelower edge 22 ofcompression tube 11 is slightly chamfered to accommodate thetapered collar 13 ofblade carrier 12.

Referring to FIGS. 1, 2 and 4,stationary blade carrier 12 is tubular and formed of steel or the like.

A plurality ofscrew threads 23 are formed on the outer surface ofblade carrier 12 at the upper end thereof, their crest diameter being such as to permit them to be substantially sliding fit within the bore ofcompression tube 11 as illustrated in PEG. 3.

To oppositely disposedhelical slots 24 are formed in thelower walls 25 oftubular blade carrier 12, terminating adjacent the end ofblade carrier 12 so that the end circumference remains intact and the lower ends ofslots 24 are retained in fixed relationship and will neither spring inwardly or spread outwardly.

Taperedcollar 13 as illustrated in FIG. 1 is located immediately aboveslots 24 and is adapted to taper upwardly and inwardly therefrom. Two oppositely locatedslits 26 are formed in the walls oftubular blade carrier 12 and extend longitudinally upwardly from the upper edges ofslots 24 to terminate above the upper edges ofcollar 13.Slits 26 are adapted to permit the diameter oftubular blade carrier 12 to be reduced in the area adjacent the upper ends ofslots 24.

It should be noted that the minor diameter oftapered collar 13 is less than the internal diameter ofcompression tube 11 as illustrated in FIG. 3, and the major diameter ofcollar 13 is greater than the internal diameter ofcompression tube 11.

Upon assembly ofblade carrier 12 as shown in FIG. 4 within compression tube 1-1 as illustrated in FIG. 3,tapered collar 13 is adapted to partially fit withinlower end 22 oftube 11 andscrew threads 23 of blade carrier 3 12 are substantially equally disposed above and belowupper edge 21 ofcompression tube 11.

Referring also to FIGS. 1 and 2,blade carrier 12 may be retained withincompression tube 11 by means ofcompression nut 14,nut 14 being adapted to threadably engagescrew threads 23 ofblade carrier 12 extending outwardly fromupper edge 21 of compression tube 1 1.

Compression nut 14 is substantially circular having a disc like configuration, ahorizontal slit 27 being formed in substantially parallel, equally spaced apart relationship with the upper and lower surfaces thereof, and extending from the periphery substantially half way therethrough. Theupper portion 28 ofnut 14 aboveslit 27 carries aclearance hole 29 formed vertically therein and the oppositely locatedlower portion 30 carries afemale thread 31 formed therein in axial alignment withclearance hole 29. Alock screw 32 is adapted to pass downwardly throughclearance hole 29 to threadably engage withthreads 31 and, upon further rotation to causeupper portion 28 andlower portion 30 to distort downwardly and upwardly respectively, closinghorizontal slit 27 and thereby compressing the female threads ofcompression nut 14 upon threads '23 ofblade carrier 12 and thereby lockingcompression nut 14 in relation toblade carrier 12.

Referring to FIGS. 1, 2 androtary blade assembly 17 comprisesspindle 16 terminating in two oppositely located fluted,helical blades 33 of an opposite configuration toslots 24 ofblade carrier 12. Theouter edges 34 ofblades 33 are sharpened and, upon assembly withinblade carrier 12, are adapted to be a close working fit within the lower portion ofblade carrier 12 defined byhelical slots 24.

Helical blades 33 ofrotary blade assembly 17 terminate in horizontal, chisel likeedges 35.

Referring to FIGS. 2 and 5, it may be seen that the diameter ofspindle 16 is somewhat less than the diameter ofblades 33, ashoulder 36 being formed therebetween.Shoulder 36 is adapted to support acylindrical bearing block 37,block 37 being adapted to fit tightly aroundspindle 16 and to be a running fit in the bore ofblade carrier 12.

It may be seen, therefore, that bearingblock 37 rotates withspindle 16 ofrotary blade assembly 17 and supports the lower portion ofspindle 16 withinblade carrier 12. Anannular groove 38 is formed in the external surface ofbearing block 37 and is adapted to accommodate an O-ring 39 as illustrated in FIG. 2. O-ring 39 is adapted to provide a fluid tight seal betweenbearing block 37 ofrotary blade assembly 17 and the bore ofblade carrier 12.

Upon assembly,blade carrier 12 is installed and locked Withincompression tube 11 as previously described and rotary blade assembly 1.7 is slidably inserted withinblade carrier 12. Spindle 16 is supported at its lower end byhearing block 37 and at its upper end byflanged bush 15 as illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2. Bottom edges ofhelical blades 33 are substantially aligned with the lower edge ofblade carrier 12,collar 18 is interposed betweenchuck 19 and flangedbush 15, thereby limiting the downward movement ofspindle 16 and preventingedges 35 ofblades 33 from extending excessively belowblade carrier 12.

In operation,macerator 10 is assembled as illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2 and, as illustrated in FIG. 2, it may be inserted in atest tube 40 shown in phantom. Material to be macerated is placed in the vicinity ofblades 33 ofrotary blade assembly 17 and, upon rotatingblade assembly 17bottom edges 35 ofblades 33 both chop the material and cause it to move upwardly in the flutes ofhelical blades 33. Upon reaching the upper limits ofblades 33 the material is ejected throughhelical slots 24 inblade carrier 12. The edges ofslots 24 are also sharpened so that a guillotine action takes place betweenedges 34 ofhelical blades 33 andslots 24 and the material is chopped still further, before being ejected outwardly throughslots 24 to return to the bottom oftest tube 40.

This process may be repeated indefinitely until the material is completely macerated. O-ring 39 effectively blocks the upward passage of any liquid matter which may be formed during the maceration process, thus, the specimen remaining intest tube 40 is completely representative of the original material.

It may be seen that the majority of the cutting action takes place between the upper ends ofhelical blades 33 and the corresponding upper ends ofslots 24 and, therefore the maximum amount of wear takes place in this area. This excessive clearance may be reduced by slackening lock screw '32 and screwing down oncompression nut 14, thereby drawingblade carrier 12 further intocompression tube 11 and causingtaper collar 13 to move upwardly and inwardly ofend 22 ofcompression tube 11. Pressure exerted oncollar 13 through the walls ofcompression tube 11 causesslits 26 to be reduced in width and therefore reduces the diameter ofblade carrier 12 in this area. In this manner the working clearance between the internal diameter ofblade carrier 12 and the external diameter ofhelical blades 33 is reduced and the cutting action therebetween remains at maximum efficiency.

Upon completion of the macerating action,macerator 16 may be removed fromtest tube 40 and quickly and easily disassembled for the washing or sterilizing process.

The general design of the individual parts of this invention as explained above may be varied according to requirements in regards to manufacture and production thereof, while still remaining within the spirit and principle of the invention, without prejudicing the novelty thereof.

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows:

1. A macerator device comprising an inner shaft member, an outer tubular member, said inner shaft member adapted to be rotatable within said outer member, helical cutting flutes located at one end of said inner shaft member, said helical cutting flutes having a solid central portion, contra-helical guillotine blades formed in one end of said outer tubular member adjacent said flutes, and fluid sealing mean located between said inner member and said outer member.

2. A macerator device comprising an inner shaft member, an outer tubular member, said inner shaft member adapted to be rotatable within said outer member, helical cutting flutes located at one end of said inner shaft member, said helical guillotine blades formed in one end of said outer tubular member adjacent said flutes, said helical guillotine blades defining helical slots therebetween, a tapered collar formed on said outer member adjacent to said helical slots, a clearance adjustment slit extending from one end of said helical slots substantially axially through said collar, screw-adjustable sleeve means adapted to compress said tapered collar for contraction of said slit, and fluid sealing means located between said inner member and said outer member.

3. A macerator device as claimed in claim 1 having bearing means located between said outer member and said inner member and a thrust bearing located on said inner member adjacent to said outer member.

4. A macerator device as claimed in claim 2 wherein said screw adjusting means is provided with a locking device.

References Cited in the filc of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 842,236 Neukirchen Jan. 29, 1907 2,026,630 Harris Ian. 7, 1936 2,582,244 Faith-Ell Jan. 15, 1952

Claims (1)

1. A MACERATOR DEVICE COMPRISING AN INNER SHAFT MEMBER, AN OUTER TUBULAR MEMBER, SAID INNER SHAFT MEMBER ADAPTED TO BE ROTATABLE WITHIN SAID OUTER MEMBER, HELICAL CUTTING FLUTES LOCATED AT ONE END OF SAID INNER SHAFT MEMBER, SAID HELICAL CUTTING FLUTES HAVING A SOLID CENTRAL PORTION, CONTRA-HELICAL GUILLOTINE BLADES FORMED IN ONE END OF SAID OUTER TUBULAR MEMBER ADJACENT SAID FLUTES,

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